GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Grand Valley State University is terminating its contract with a Detroit charter school.

The university’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved GVSU’s recommendation to end its role as authorizer of Escuela Avancemos!, a K-5 school that serves 224 students on Detroit’s southwest side.

The school will remain open through the remainder of the current school year, but will close if a new authorizer isn't found in time for the start of the fall 2014 school year, officials said.

The university recommended terminating its contract with Escuela Avancemos! because the school’s program provider had already cut ties with the school. That left the school without a “proven program provider to deliver a curriculum and instructional model” consistent with GVSU’s standards, said Tim Wood, who heads the university’s Charter Schools office.

Wood also cited poor academic performance and leadership issues as reasons for the contract termination.

“It’s never easy to close a school and displace students,” Wood said.

But, he added: “As long as our focus remains on students and what is best for those students, it becomes a pretty easy decision.”

GVSU has closed 15 of its charter schools since 1995. The university now has 68 charter schools, serving 34,000 students.

Brian McVicar covers education for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at bmcvicar@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter